May 14, 2010

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Post-Processing Infrared Photographs in Photoshop

I have recently become interested in Infrared Photography and I had a bit of trouble finding good ways to post-process my IR photos. So, here is my method to editing those starkly ‘red/magenta’ photographs!

This is the before/after shot:

Infrared Post-Processing

Infrared photography is a special technique in which you use an Infrared Filter, which you attach over your lens like any other lens filter – then take an exposure using a fairly long shutter speed (dependent on light source). The IR-Filter blocks all other light and allows only Infrared light to pass through onto your sensor/film. The photograph you end up with has a very red/magenta Hue, which now presents us with the task of post-processing the photograph to create an interesting representation of our world in Infrared light.

Please be aware that not all cameras are ideal for infrared photography, mainly due to the strong IR filters already within the camera designed to protect the cameras sensor. To test whether your camera is ideal or not, simply grab a remote control with an IR transmitter (most TV remotes), and switch to your live view mode. Aiming the remote at your camera while pressing the buttons, you should notice the “purple” colour of the remote transmitter light. The intensity will vary for every camera, however put simply the greater amount of light that you see the better your camera is for Infrared photography.

I’ve done this Photoshop :

1. Starting

Firstly open your raw IR photograph in Photoshop

If you use the raw editing interface it is very easy to reduce the red – this should open automatically when opening your raw file through Photoshop

In Camera Raw 5.0/6.0:

Choose custom White Balance, and set the Temperature to 2000

Adjust the Tint to full green -150, if needed:

Adjust the Saturation (Bottom) – I have reduced mine by -56

You can do minor adjustments in Camera Raw, or just leave and open up the image

I also recommend looking at the HSL/Grayscale (fourth tab) options for further refinement, adjusting the Hue especially!

At this point I had done most of my editing and was reasonably happy with the result! You might as well!

Camera Raw Adjustments (Click to view larger)

2. Channel Mixer (recommended)

Now, we need to change the colours Red and Blue by colour swapping:

Go, Image –> Adjustments –> Channel Mixer

Swap Red to Blue: 0%, 0%, 100%

Channel Mixer – Red (Click to view larger)

Swap Blue to Red: 100%, 0%, 0%

Channel Mixer – Blue (Click to view larger)

2.b. Inversion Layer

A simpler method is to duplicate the original, then invert the duplicate, and set to color blend:

Written by Mike

Michael Scott is the publisher and photographer behind Scott Photographics! He is very passionate about his photography and enjoys sharing the best of his experiences for others to enjoy too! Contact Mike via email!

Would love some help with editing IR photos! Available for a quick online chat sometime!?

rob

Jan 29 2016

to get the grass and leaves white you need to set the custom white balance correctly. take a shot of the grass near where you are shooting, ensuring the light does not change significantly between time of sampling and the actual shoot – this bit is important. then in the menu choose custom white balance and go through the process. the camera should ask you to accept the grass photo as the WB, say ok to this. then (and this is the crucial step often missed) you need to set the WB on the camera to custom (most canons have the WB set options somewhere near the main buttons on the back). do this and it should work providing your camera will see IR and also if you are using a decent filter. exposure times can be long if it is not a really sunny day – on a dullish day mine take 2 mins or so using a hoya filter. also don’t forget to cover up your viewfinder so no light gets through

Sorry for the late reply, unfortunately technology has moves all too quickly, and IR post-processing too, so please checkout some of my links in the comments below, however I have come to the realisation that IR photography does require a level of hardware modification, and cannot be entirely done in post-processing. Cameras do vary in their IR filtering, and you can check this with a TV remote by pressing a button and pointing at your camera while in liveview.

Please comment if you are more informed and know more about this exciting photographic technique:)

Cheers,
Mike

Colin

Sep 25 2015

Great information, I have set a custom white balance but still can not get the grass white etc.

Great result. Although I’m big fan of IR photos mine with Canon 100d looks like red poo. I thought that the only problem will be “hot spot”… Nah… No hot spot there. Only mad photographer.The best IR photos I’ve made with my telephone @_@. F* I give up.

hi,
I am using adobe cs6 have you done an updated version of this
tutorial as some of the setting don’t work out, I have taken infrared
pictures with my Nikon d800 I have tried taking a white balance
of grass, my biggest problem is with the processing to make it
look right any help would be much appreciated,stefan

Nina

Feb 25 2014

Great tutorial! I just wish I had photoshop… :( Am using GIMP so will try to translate these steps into that programme – any chance of a GIMP version appearing here, as I imagine I’ll be in need of help!

Thanks for sharing that technique, I’ve been looking for these colors for some weeks now !

graymalkin

Jun 5 2011

I have a Sony DSC-V1, and was excited when I discovered I could take IR with the NightShot feature. Read everything I could find on IR with my model camera (and others), bought a Hoya R72, Tiffen ND .09, SKY 1-A, Circular Polarizer – basically every filter I saw recommended for getting good results in IR. Fairly pleased with the results, but have always wanted to take my green-tinted photos and get the post-processing results I see posted. I have followed every tutorial step-by-step, with frustrating results. I’m still using PhotoShop 6, and I have Bibble Pro 5. Just can’t seem to achieve anywhere near the results I see others getting. Very frustrating!
If anyone could take the time to lead me step-by-step to achieve the results I’m seeking, I’d be tremendously grateful!

The colourful infrared photos have been coloured in Photoshop with a simple hue shift or even with specific selections and so on.

I’ll see if I can come up with some screenshots for you in the future!

Cheers,

Michael

Jason Young

Nov 14 2010

Hi, Dear friend:

I’m very impressed your “Post-processing infrared photograph in photoshop” on web. I’ve got useful information for this topic,
but I have question that I saw a lot of colorful infrared images on web,
how did it come out through photoshop software?
I will great appreciated if you can answer my question.
Thanks!
With regards

Fantastic work! I dig that photo very much! If you’re on facebook, add me to see some of my infrared photography. I’m a semi-expert on post-processing IR photos and I can teach you some ways that will speed up your work flow while producing great results! Send me an email or just add me on facebook with “Infrared Photography” in the message field…